Adnan Januzaj should have been a ‘superstar’ and former Manchester United academy boss Nicky Butt has been disappointed to see his talent fail to flourish.
Januzaj burst onto the scene when he made his first ever start for Sir Alex Ferguson’s United back in 2013, scoring twice as the side came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1.
But he would only go on to score three more goals in the league as his progress faltered, eventually being loaned out to Borussia Dortmund and then Sunderland before signing for Real Sociedad in 2017.
Former United midfielder Butt, now head of first-team development, was replaced at the top of the academy by Nick Cox over the summer but still regrets Januzaj’s failure to turn into a regular in the first team.
‘For me, the biggest disappointment at this club was Adnan Januzaj,’ Butt told ESPN.
‘I don’t think I’ve seen a player, probably since Ryan [Giggs], who was as good as that. He was unbelievable.
‘In my eyes he should have gone on to be a world superstar.’
Butt was part of the famous ‘Class of 92’, who all came through the United academy together and became the core of one of the most successful sides in English footballing history.
David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes became household names for club and country.
After a fallow period since then, Butt believes United have started to produce that level of talent from the academy once again, but that ability alone will not suffice.
‘Talent gets you through the gate [at United] but what will keep you here is character and commitment,’ Butt added.
‘With Scott [McTominay] and Brandon [Williams], that’s just character. Character with talent and not talent with character.
‘It’s a never-say-die attitude, a will to win. They are both talented footballers, but to get to where they have got is down to their attitude.’
